Tag Archive: soho

Some people wake up early to go to work, some others for school, or even to catch a flight… but I woke up to meet up my girl for breakfast.
I know we are insane, but she is leaving for Turkey and we still haven’t done our “Breakfast at Balthazar.” So we decided to meet up at 7.30am.

If you have ever been to New York you should know that Balthazar is a restaurant that is always busy . You can “book” a table, if anyone answers to the phone, so you better go and put your name on the list. Every time we go there we become very creative to get quickly a table: we pretended that we had a booking and made a scandal, charmed the hostess (male or female), or even tipped the hostess.

But this morning no need to do all that…I was the first customer:) So picked my favorite table which is the corner booth, ordered my coffee and waited for my girl. Our typical breakfast is eggs benedicts, with extra hollandaise sauce on the side and crispy bacon… I know a very light way to start the day.
Do you remember when I told you sometimes I don’t wait for the week-end for my brunch fix? Well it was one of those days…

It was yummy as usual, if you go for lunch I highly advise you their fresh oysters from the bar and French Fries!!! And for the cold days their Onion Soup looks amazing, I am always sad that I cannot digest onion cause the cheese crouton on top of the soup looks to die for.

I would love to talk about the crowd, but beside us two crazies there were 5 other people… but normally it is full of everything: tourists, shoppers, or people meeting for business breakfast (not 7.30 am though) or lunch.

We ate and chatted until 9.30am and walked in Soho a little while to digest. As the stores open at only 10am, it was a great for my shopping diet… I can watch but not buy

If I continue this restaurant marathon, believe me I might need to do a serious food diet as well!!!

That night with my boys we had a very busy schedule… We had to first pass by “Nublu”, as a friend of theirs and her husband was singing, then hit Soho Grand as I had a meeting with the “Grand Girl Power” (the name that I gave to the hot and happening power girls working at Soho and Tribecca Grand), and end the night at B.E.S. to finish the night.

When we made it to Nublu, it was still quite empty but started to fill in very quickly. This bar that is in east village for a while is known for its live music. It has been around for a while and from the outside doesn’t look like anything, but once you pay your 10$ cover and you enter, you are nicely surprised.

This time the singers were friends of the boys. The music was great, but I think Nublu had a problem with AC, because the first hour, I thought we were in a sauna.
And you know how I much I like heat… I felt that my face and make-up was melting. Thanks God they fixed it later and we started to breathe again…

Anyway, by that time we were ready for our second stop… we grabbed a cab and fought NY Saturday traffic from east village to Soho, and finally arrived to “Soho Grand”. Soho Grand is an institution; I believe it was the first boutique hotel in Soho. It has this special vibe that keeps attracting celebrities and tourists… and me, LOL.

The Club Room is the new space of the Hotel. So the “Grand Power Girls” wanted me to see it for my clients, and off course enjoy the night It opens only at 10 pm and when we arrived at 11pm it was starting to fill up. The room is beautiful… imagine beautiful leather sofas and chairs around wood tables, a big fire place, black and white metal pictures of big celebrities (and my favorite with Sean Connery on his bath tub)on the walls, a dimmed light with great music.

They made a perfect combination between modern and cozy… I believe it would be my winter hangout. I just wished they served food (I know I am very demanding) so didn’t need to go to the bar at the lobby, “The Grand bar and lounge”. I understand them though; you don’t eat at a club, but your feel so comfy that you just want to nibble something …

Finally we had a blast at the lounge as well, great music and yummy food: cold cuts and cheese, mac and cheese, little pizza slices, and tuna tartare. And guess what, I thought I was the only hungry one… it appeared that everybody was famished..

What can I say, another great night in New York.. I had all the elements as well, great ambiance, great music, great décor, great food and most importantly great company… between my Boys and the The Grand Power Girls, I was spoiled!!!

ohh and it was so late when I left Soho Grand, that I never made it to B.E.S. for the party… I will add it on my to do list for next week

With my girlfriend we love to select some days, and go to Soho. Our Soho days either starts with breakfast at “Balthazar”, or lunch at “Ciprianni”, or another restaurant in the area. And beside the usual Soho shopping, we do our t shirt shopping on Broadway (that includes old navy and gap).
As during this trip I decided to not shop, we just did our little stop at old navy, and decided to go to “Pullino’s” which opened in March 2010.
Pullino’s is the new baby of Keith Mc Nally; if the name doesn’t ring a bell, maybe his other restaurants will… Odeon, Pravda, Balthazar, Pastis, Morandi or Minetta Tavern are the ones that I personally love… The only problem with Pullino’s is that it is only pizza, and we wanted more options. So decided to keep it for another day and tried to find another restaurant.
Most of the restaurants were either full or closed and finally we sat at “Delicatessen”… It is located at the crossroads of soho and nolita, and has a menu composed of all day breakfast and comfort American food.

The room is in wood and metal with wall to wall mirror, with a nice terrace. Although it was 2pm, the restaurant was busy. They seated us next to a table that looked very hip hop, and between us I think they were celebrities as paparazzi was around to take their picture. Otherwise the rest of teh crowd was composed of cute boys and lots of families.

I ordered a tuna tartare (I know again) but specified that no onion, no shallots or chives… and guess what… it came with full of onions in it; when I told the waiter, he tried to convince me that those were not onions. I mean I guess at my age I know how an onion smells or tastes likes..
Anyway, after discussing for 5 minutes, he finally admitted that these were onions and replaced it. In the mean time I ate my my artichoke and spinach dip with parmesan cheese and truffle oil. My friends took a cob salad and a chicken salad. The food overall was ok.

Would I go back there? Yes if I am in the neighborhood and cannot find another restaurant… and if you are in the neighborhood and you are hungry, you should give a try;)

That night after my zumba class I met my friend at “Tribecca Grand”. She is the event planner there, and we decided to take a drink at the bar… off course the drink became drinks, and some friends joined us, and we ended up eating at the bar… It wasn’t very full but we had a great time… good food and good cocktails.
After Tribecca Grand we crossed the street and hit “Macao”. It is a restaurant that serves Asian-Portuguese fusion food.

We went downstairs where between the lights and the atmosphere you have the feeling to be in an underground bar. Some of us was still hungry so we ordered some rice, pork and crab dumplings… everything was delicious. Than tempted by the music, we danced until they closed the place…

What can I say another late night with lots of liquid and fun time in NY… thanks god I worked out a little so I feel less guilty